One of the most frequently asked questions when writing a resume is: “Should it strictly fit on a single page?”
For years, the unbreakable rule of HR experts was to never exceed a single page. Today, thanks to digitization and systems reading information in milliseconds, that rule has become more flexible, but it hasn’t completely disappeared.
Here is the ultimate guide based on your career level.
The one-page resume
This is the ideal length for 70% of applicants. You should aim for a single page if:
- You are a student or recent graduate.
- You have less than 5 to 7 years of work experience.
- You are making a radical industry change and your past experience is not directly applicable.
Recruiters spend an average of 6 to 8 seconds scanning a CV in the first manual review. A single page forces them to read only your best and biggest achievements, without distractions.
The two-page resume
Don’t be afraid to spill over to a second page if:
- You have more than 7 to 10 years of progressive experience in your industry.
- You are a highly technical, scientific, or engineering profile (you need space to list technologies, programming languages, complex projects, and certifications).
- You are applying for executive or academic roles where details about publications or conferences are required.
Golden rule: If you’re going to use a second page, make sure to fill it at least halfway. A second page with only two or three lines of text looks sloppy and gives the impression that you didn’t know how to summarize your information.
What to cut to save space
If you’re struggling to fit everything on one page, apply these cuts:
- Remove the outdated “Career Objective”: Replace it with an Executive Summary of 3 or 4 lines focused on what you can bring to the table, not what you want from the company.
- Delete very old jobs: If you’re applying for Finance Manager, you don’t need to mention you were a restaurant cashier 15 years ago.
- Omit the phrase “References available upon request”: It’s a given. It’s a waste of very valuable space.
Using an automated design system like cvatsfacil.com will help you optimize margins and line spacing to make the most of every millimeter of your page without the text looking cluttered.